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Words valerie khoo
IllustratIons Melissa Mackie/ illustration rooM
120 | virginaustralia
Want to foster creativity and innovation in
f
Want to foster creativity and innovation in
d
Want to foster creativity and innovation in
your business? Giving staff the opportunity to work on their
your business? Giving staff the opportunity to work on their
own projects during office hours may be the answer.
own projects during office hours may be the answer.
Welcome to a new breed of entrepreneurs — the entre-ployee.
Welcome to a new breed of entrepreneurs — the entre-ployee.
boss
boss
C
an you imagine working for
a company where you’re not
only paid a salary to do your
work, but encouraged to
start your own business?
Your boss is even happy for you to use
company resources and expertise to get
your new idea of the ground. You’re
not discouraged from working on your
personal project while on the clock; in
fact, you’re seen as an innovator. Welcome
to the new world of the ‘entre-ployee’.
This isn’t some kind of futuristic
utopia. It’s happening in businesses
today. Though it would have been
unheard of 10 years ago, now it seems
that entre-ployees are slowly, but surely,
becoming the new normal.
An entre-ployee is a regular employee
who is also encouraged to become an
entrepreneur on the side. This is distinct
from being an intrapreneur, where you
exhibit entrepreneurial skills, but are still
doing that within the confnes of your job.
Melbourne-based creative agency Loud
& Clear actively encourages employees
to develop their own businesses using
company resources, even ofering
mentorship and advice via a formal
business incubator program. There’s
no catch. The company does not expect
to acquire the new business. It’s owned
by the employee who creates it.
Managing director Cade Witnish says
this is a key way to help Loud & Clear’s
employees broaden their own range of
skills. “ We work with clients like Telstra,
Bosch and ANZ, providing digital
marketing solutions,” he says. “ We tend
to be viewed like a SWAT team that can
solve problems that other agencies can’t.”
The challenge with ofering such
ninja-like services means that you need
staf with broad-ranging ninja skills.
But if you’ve been trained as a graphic
designer or web developer, you don’t
necessarily have the experience to solve
strategic business problems. So what
better way to learn than to face real-life
decisions with your own business idea?
It’s like on-the-job training on steroids.
Witnish says that the incubator, which all
employees can apply to participate in, has
already spawned a successful start-up,
BoxSuite — an online application that
helps businesses schedule rosters for
staf. It’s the brainchild of Loud & Clear
employee Jeremy Scott. “Six months after
I joined the company, I decided to develop
my business idea and apply to be in the
incubator,” he says. “ The support network
in an incubator environment is very
useful. After all, it’s one thing to have
a good idea, but it’s a whole other thing
if you have to do it all yourself.”
Scott says the experience has broadened
his skills. “I’ve been exposed to the whole
gamut of business practices,” he explains.
“I’ve learnt a lot of skills in the area of user
experience, as well as digital marketing.
And now I’ve been able to use those new
skills to help our current clients.”
think
like
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120
V0115_NAV_entre-ployees.indd 120
9/12/2014 12:06:15 PM